


Shiver in the Neon Light

by sarah_x



Category: Generation X (Comic), Marvel (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-10 13:55:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13502942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarah_x/pseuds/sarah_x
Summary: In the aftermath of Emplate's attack on the school, Jubilee and Jono have a lot to discuss.





	1. Baby, Please Don't Leave Me

Jono hadn’t seen Jubilee in over four days. They had been meaning to have a proper conversation about the implications of Jubilee’s powers returning but between the fallout of Emplate’s attack, rehabilitating Monet and the return of Jean Grey, they hadn’t found a spare minute between them. Only a few days ago had Jono been given the go ahead by Nemesis and Rao to leave the sickbay following a concussion courtesy of Emplate. Even regular teacherly duties had been put on the backburner.

He’d managed to find some respite before she had. He’d come to accept the fact that he was a C-list X-Man (even if his friends tried to convince him otherwise, the X-Men hierarchy was pretty obvious) and that the X-Men called him in for all-hands-on-deck situations only. He was OK with that. He had always been a quiet and reserved person, better off as a strict but fair instructor than rampaging around New York as a superhero. In fact, he’d thought he’d had it all figured out up until recently. He was perfectly content with being a teacher for a few years, maybe staying on at the school or finding his own place. Sometimes he liked to entertain the idea of having a girlfriend or boyfriend to tie him down. A nice apartment in New York, or London, with a partner and a cat. Or maybe just the cat.

Then Jubilee had come back into his life and thrown a grenade into his plans. He’d been hung up on Paige for so long – when she’d clearly moved on with her life – that it had taken him until Jubilee was at the lowest possible point in her life to realize his feelings for her. With her powers returning, the comfy routine they’d fallen into was threatened. What if she didn’t need him anymore? He felt selfish just thinking that. It made her suffering about him.

They hadn’t even had a real chance to talk about how she’d kissed him. It had been totally unexpected: in fact, he’d been sure that his feelings were almost certainly unrequited. Then she had pushed him away, embarrassed or maybe even ashamed of what she’d done. Her reaction only drove the doubt deeper into his mind.

She was back from a mission today. Her teammates, Dani and Bobby, poked their heads around his door a few hours ago to catch up and criticize his taste in music, confirming they’d touched down. His bedroom door was open, a rarity for him, considering his room spilled out into a busy corridor. Desperate measures and all that. He’d decided it was time for a spring (or in this case, a late winter) clean. He’d never been much of a hoarder, it was Jubilee who insisted he hold onto everything for the sentimental value, but the piles of clothes and crap were starting to get under his feet. He sorted them into two piles on his bed: keep and chuck out. His cleaning drew the attention of curious mutants as the garbage bags started piling up in his doorway. He’d put on a _Bikini Kill_ record in hopes of coaxing Jubilee to his room. Jono could still remember the days when Jubilee would sneak into his room at the Academy in search of records and clothes to “borrow”.  God forbid he ever caught her in there – the only time he had, it had triggered a prank war so intense Emma had almost kicked them both out of the school.

He was beginning to think Jubilee was purposefully avoiding him when a small figure shuffled into view. Before he could greet her, she eyed the garbage bags at her feet with a frown, “You moving out?”

 _“You wish,”_ Jono teased, reaching over to turn down the volume on the record player, _“Just decluttering. How’s Monet?”_

“Better than she was,” Jubilee replied, already distracted by the bags in the doorway and rummaging through them. “Paige and Rachel are working with her. It’ll take a while, though. Her brother was inside her head for months, twisting her thoughts. Emplate made her hurt _kids._ You don’t get over something like that quickly.”

Jono just nodded. He’d tried to see how Monet was doing since they’d defeated and imprisoned Emplate, but he’d mostly gotten one-word answers out of her. Not surprising given her trauma but even before this most recent Emplate attack, Monet had always been a deeply guarded, self-assured person. He was better off trying to get a brick wall to talk about its feelings.

“ _Dude,_ ” Jubilee’s sharp tone cut through his thoughts. She pulled a handful of clothes out of one of the garbage bags, including his old band t-shirts that no longer fit him. She held up a _Green Day_ shirt for inspection, “This one’s _signed._ You can’t just throw this stuff out!”

Jono shrugged, _“Still got my Smiths shirt, don’t I? Besides, most of ‘em have holes burned through them. It doesn’t matter.”_

She gathered the clothes up and perched herself on the edge of his bed. She cradled them against her chest, chin resting on top of the pile, as a glum expression spread across her usually bright, smiling face. Her reaction surprised him. He knew she might be a little disheartened and probably offer to take a few things off his hands, but he hadn’t expected her to look this sad about pile of useless junk. Then again, maybe it had nothing to do with the clear out. They were still skirting around the elephant in the room.

“But…” She bit her lip, holding the shirt up in front of her. “It does matter. I remember you wearing this at Angelo’s 18th birthday party.”

If Jono could have sighed, he would have. Instead, he shut the door and gently settled down next to her on the bed. He bumped her shoulder lightly with his, _“Something tells me this isn’t about the shirts, luv. Wanna talk?”_

Jubilee threw her hands up, exasperation marring her features, “I dunno. I dunno… how I feel right now. About anything. You, Monet, _Jean_ , my powers coming back...”

She dropped the t-shirt into her lap and stretched out her hand. Plasmoids bubbled up on her fingertips, familiar fireworks Jono hadn’t seen in quite some time. Pink, blue and yellow colours reflected off her warm brown eyes. The plasmoids let off a whiz-bang sound, shooting out of her hand and fizzling out before they hit the carpet. An acrid sulphur smell lingered in the air. Jono’s own psionic energy began to shift under his scarf as if reacting to the sudden rush of the plasmoids.

 _“Wow,”_ Even in his head, Jono sounded breathless, _“I forgot how amazing your powers are.”_

A reluctant smile stretched across her tired face. She shifted a little closer to him on the bed. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better. My powers are so lame.”

Jono raised a brow, _“Wouldn’t go writing them off just yet. Could be worse.”_

Jubilee winced slightly, face scrunching as she turned to him. “Sorry, Sparky. Guess I should be glad they’re back at all. I just feel… all messed up inside.”

She pushed the t-shirts off her lap and drew her legs up to her chest. Jono’s hand came to rest on her shoulder, a light touch she could easily shrug off if he wasn’t what she needed. She was so warm under him, a jarring difference to the vampire girl he’d gotten used to. _“You’ve been through a lot. It’s understandable that your head’s all over the shop. It’ll take time to-”_

“It’s not just mental or emotional stuff,” She said, voice muffled as she buried her head into her thighs. “I’ve been feeling sick all the time. My body’s gotten so used to drinking blood, I can hardly keep down real food! And I just feel so… drained. Like I want to sleep all the time. Except I don’t. I’m bored, too, and hate being stuck inside. And I just keep thinking that you’ll-” She stopped herself suddenly and glanced up at Jono.

 _“That I’ll what?”_ He tried to keep the concern out of his thoughts when he saw her defeated expression.

She rubbed her hands over her face, holding her bangs up and stretching the skin of her forehead while letting out a loud groan. A fondness washed over him at her usual dramatics, energy shifting restlessly again, which was happening more and more whenever Lee was around.

“That you’ll hate me,” She admitted, “That you’ll…. it’s stupid.”

 _“Lee, come off it, luv, I don’t hate you,”_ Jono said, hand moving to wrap around the back of her shoulders, other hand supporting her arm. _“You know you can tell me anything, right?”_

She leaned against him, allowing her legs to unfurl and hang over the edge of the bed. Her fingers wrapped around his thigh, tugged until his leg was over one of hers. He moved a hand from her arm to steady himself on the bed. Her hand rested gently on his leg. He winked at her, _“How about we save that for after the heartfelt discussion, sweetheart.”_

“Shut up,” She rolled her eyes, fighting a grin. “God… how can you be so calm about everything?”

 _“It’s like the kids say: same shit, different day,”_ Jono replied, _“That’s not, er, to say your problems are shit.”_

A smile glowed on her face, “You’re a real charmer, you know that, Starsmore?”

_“What can I say, all the vampire single moms love me.”_

Jubilee giggled and reached up as if to kiss him but seemed to think better of it. She wiggled out from under his leg and kept her hands firmly in her pockets. He took that as a cue to move his arm from her shoulders back onto the bed.

_“What were you going to say to me?”_

“I was afraid that you’d… that you’d leave me,” Jubilee replied hesitantly, chancing a glance up at Jono as if to read his expression, but quickly moving her gaze back to the floor. Her shoe toed the end of an old football trophy, “That kiss… I know I said some things. Hurtful things. I was just so embarrassed. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship or push myself onto you like that. Look, I know we’re not together and after everything that’s happened I’d understand if you’d… if you’ve got someone else on your mind. I know Paige is back and you two were… well, you two have real history. Can’t exactly say the same for us.”

 _“Me and Paige are just friends, Lee,”_ Jono reminded her. He didn’t like to interrupt her, but he could see where this was leading, _“We’ve both got our own lives now, we can’t be doing with all that silly stuff in the past.”_

“Oh god, does that sound like I’m jealous?” Jubilee covered her face with her hands, “’Cos that’s not what I’m getting at. Like, _at all.”_

 _“Lee, it’s all right,”_ It was hard not to be a little bit amused by Jubilee, but he tried to fight off the urge to tease her. This was obviously something difficult for her. _“Look, the last thing I want is for you to get yourself all worked up about a silly little kiss.”_

He omitted the part about how it made him feel, how he’d wanted it for so long and then not had the time to appreciate it. How he _had_ been hurt by how ashamed she’d been of the kiss. He knew it was irrational, knew Jubilee had been emotional from Shogo playing up along with confronting an Emplate-possessed-Monet. It was selfish, too, to want to find fulfilment from Jubilee’s moment of weakness.

“But it’s not just about that, Jono,” She said, “You’re so good with Shogo, I honestly don’t think I’d be able to cope without you. And I don’t want this to ruin our friendship, but I’ve been thinking about… about us.”

 _“Yeah,”_ He admitted reluctantly, catching her gaze. _“Me too.”_

He heard Jubilee suck air through her teeth and continued quickly, _“I’m not going to leave you, Lee. Wouldn’t dream of it. You’ve got your own life, I respect that. And I’ve got mine, I’ve made some pretty good mates here, more than I ever expected to when I first came. Took me a while, too. Lots of unchecked anger and nastiness. You know how I can get sometimes.”_

Jubilee nodded, lips tightening into a sad smile. He wasn’t proud of the times he’d snapped at her or gotten into an unnecessary argument with Kitty or one of the other X-Men over something stupid. He could still be an arsehole when he was in a mood, but he liked to think he’d shrugged off most of that childhood bitterness.

 _“Point is, I’ve really enjoyed having you here,”_ He said, _“Having you in my life again. I thought I’d never see any of our classmates again, now we’ve got ourselves close to a bloody reunion. You did that. Brought us all together. You and the kids. And I think it’s silly to get into all of that fate crap but here we are… a whole decade later, still trying to make it work. I’d like to see if we can.”_

Jubilee was silent for a few moments, staring at him. Not exactly the reaction he’d anticipated. Jono added, _“If that’s what, er, you want too, I mean.”_

She pulled him into a hug, surging forward and wrapping her arms around him. Her cheek pressed into his scarf, against the psionic energy that formed a construct of something like a face. He was frozen at first but slowly allowed himself to sink into the embrace, one arm wrapping firmly around her back and the other cradling her head. She had such soft, pretty hair. It was so tempting to just comb his fingers through it, to touch her, but she still hadn’t given him an answer.

“Yeah,” She finally responded, voice cracking a little, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

She moved her head back and Jono relaxed his grip so she could shift around without breaking the embrace. Her eyes were half-lidded, gentle fingers pushing strands of hair out of his eyes, “You sure that knock to the head didn’t mess up your brain?”

 _“Guess we’ll find out.”_ It was difficult to hold a conversation with Jubilee this close to him, practically sitting in his lap, breath warm against his scarf.

She smiled again, rubbing her nose softly against his. He closed his eyes, felt her kiss him on the cheek and then the forehead. It sent a shiver through his body. Feeling her blood pumping again, her heartbeat, her fireworks crackling just beneath the surface of her skin, brought a wave of relief over him. He’d love her no matter what but hopefully this would bring her some peace of mind, at least against the worries about out-aging Shogo and all her friends. It would be different now. Hard, even. None of that seemed to matter when her soft lips ghosted his skin, leaving a trail of strawberry lip-gloss behind.

 _“Sure you won’t miss kissing?”_ He opened his eyes, trying to sound serious, but it was difficult with Jubilee still peppering him with kisses.

“Don’t worry about that, Sparky,” Jubilee hummed, grinning against his skin, “I’m a creative girl.”

If Jono still had a mouth, it would have gone dry. Jubilee was wild as always, a thought that excited him to no end.

 _“Maybe we should go out tonight,”_ He pressed, not wanting her to stop but posing a remedy to her current concerns, _“Celebrate. Just the two of us. There’s this club in town-”_

Jubilee pulled back, eyes sparkling, “You wanna go dancing? _You?”_

 _“Oi!”_ Jono complained, placing a hand over his chest _, “I went to my fair share of concerts and clubs back in the day. Don’t let the teacher act fool you, this old dog has plenty new tricks.”_

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Jubilee replied, “Tonight, hopefully.”

_“You think Dani could watch Shogo?”_

“Definitely.”

_“Perfect.”_


	2. We'll Make It Work

Jono examined himself in the mirror probably a little too closely. He was wearing his typical outfit: t-shirt, jeans, a leather jacket, black shoes but only the best versions of those items he owned. He’d had the jacket since he was a teenager and it was starting to get tatty and faded. Not much he could do about it and yet it became a point of obsession. The old black bandages replaced his usual scarf. They felt restrictive now, binding him up and away, hiding his mutation. He’d outgrown them and was glad for it, save when he was sharing a bed with someone or showering. It would be easier to get into the club with the bandages rather than the scarf, which he might be asked to take off.

Cracks of light evaded the bandages, peeking through the tight bindings. He was full of anxious energy, in more ways than one. He shouldn’t be this nervous about a date. It was Jubilee. Besides, he’d been to clubs plenty of times before without hassle. Admittedly those were his younger days where he’d been sneaking in with Angelo or moping in the corner after he’d been dragged along by a ragtag group of Gen X-ers and New Mutants.

It was more about what it meant for them. Even if those nights patrolling for Monet had ended up being something just short of intimate, this was their first real date as a couple. Couple. It was a big, scary word. There was so much expectation behind it, expectation he wasn’t sure he was capable of living up to. Not because he didn’t love her enough. He loved her desperately, so much so that he was sure he would disappoint her one way or another. If it wasn’t the absence of kissing, an intimacy he’d never be afforded again, then it would always be something else: depression, shyness, the general danger of being a mutant in a world trying to eradicate mutants from the face of the Earth. Jubilee was a whirlwind of a person, quick witted and confident. She would always fill a room, always speak her mind and always exude popularity and kindness. And what was he? The quiet tag-along, rarely acknowledged and easily forgotten.

He left the room before he allowed his insecurities to swallow him up. He was being irrational. Both of them had grown so much over the years. He wasn’t as unpopular as he liked to believe. Yet the doubt still hung there in his mind. Even if they’d known each other for years, even if they’d be through hell together, inhibition would seep into his mind like a burning mantra of _not good enough, not good enough, not good enough._

He shuffled quietly through the halls of the mansion. It was a school night after all, most of the students in bed or at least pretending to be asleep. For the staff, a different story: either out on missions or with plans like Jono’s and Jubilee’s, a night on the town, in costume or not. He decided to head for the rec room. He knew better than to hurry Jubilee when she was getting ready. It was one of her pet peeves and commenting on how long she took only made her drag out the process on purpose.

Dani and Illyana were sitting on the couch of the rec room, fussing over a Monopoly board. They glanced up at him briefly as he entered the room. Illyana gave a grunt of acknowledgement, impressive for her.

Dani smiled at him, “Jubilee told me you two were going out tonight.”

She spoke it more like a question than a statement. Jono nodded and elaborated, _“There’s a club in Hell’s Kitchen, Revival. Dazzler used to perform there, figure it’s a bit mutant friendly at least.”_

“Sure you don’t want to join us for a game?” Dani inquired, gesturing to the board game. He noticed the baby monitor beside it. He’d forgotten Dani had agreed to babysitting duty. He made a mental note to buy her something nice to say thank you.

Illyana rattled the dice in her fist, a sinister smile sweeping across her face.

Jono shook his head, _“No ta, ladies. Maybe some other time.”_

“Coward.” Illyana taunted.

Jono found himself in the kitchen, a room he rarely used. It often acted as a kind of liminal space for him. He’d go in there to carry on a conversation with someone or to chase snacking students out at 3AM but that’s where his relationship with the room ended. Yet he wandered over to the sink, ran the cold tap and splashed water on his face.

“You look nice.”

The soft voice surprised him, and he turned to see Paige leaning against a counter, coffee mug in hand, shawl wrapped around her shoulders. She smiled at him and the skin around her mouth cracked a little.

_“Thanks.”_

He dried his face with one of the tea towels, trying not to look as awkward as he felt. There was no reason to be this way around Paige. They hadn’t been together for years and they’d dated plenty of other people since. Yet he’d always thought Paige would be the girl that would last, The One, because of their history and, well, he’d spent years agonizing over her only for it all to go to waste. No, not to waste, he tried to remind himself. Paige was still one of his best friends, as important in his life now as she was then. Perhaps it was for that reason he felt to unsure of himself around her now. Unless Jubilee had told her, she didn’t know they were getting serious. And if Jubilee had told her, that opened the can of the worms that was the whole “girl code” thing.

“Hot date?”

_“Kind of.”_

Paige narrowed her eyes and set the coffee mug down on the counter. She leaned against the counter, hands gripping the smooth granite and watched him with the intensity only a psychologist had to offer.

“Jubilee mentioned you two were getting close,” Paige said, studying him, and Jono was reminded of just how much he didn’t want to be having this conversation, “She said you’ve been helping out with Shogo a lot. Something tells me folks wouldn’t be wrong in assuming y’all are more than friends...”

Jono stayed silent for a moment. Paige was patient, still watching him, but her expression had softened. She came off less like a detached psychologist and more the mousy farmgirl he knew.

 _“Look, Paige, I’m sorry,”_ Jono replied finally, _“I should ‘ave told you but this whole thing with Jubes… it just happened so fast. It **just** happened.” _

Paige waved a hand at him, “I’m just being nosy. Ain’t my business who you date, sweetheart. But you’re alright, aren’t you? You’re happy?”

There was something so unwaveringly sincere in Paige’s tone, it took him aback. _“Yeah… I think so. Think I’ve finally got my shit together.”_

She beamed at him, “Me too.”

Without thinking, he crossed the room and hugged her. She went stiff in his arms, unsurprisingly shocked. Jono had never been the type to initiate a gesture like this. She recovered quickly, resting her head against his shoulder.

She whispered low into his ear, “Don’t break our girl’s heart, Jono, you hear me?”

_“Never.”_

She pulled back and winked at him, “I’ll hold you to that.”

“ _Wow_ ,” They both swivelled their heads to see Jubilee standing in the doorway, grinning at them and wagging her finger, “My boyfriend and my best friend? Have you no _dignity_?”

It took a moment for Jono to process what Jubilee had said and his compromising proximity to Paige. Jubilee was stood in the doorway, framed from the lowlight of the rec room. She was leaning against the doorframe, pink dress fluttering around her thighs invitingly as she tottered towards them on strappy yellow heels.  Her makeup, which might have looked ridiculously dollish on anyone else, just reminded him that Jubilee strove to be the personification of candy. His attention was drawn to her chest and not just for lewd reasons. Sitting on her collarbone was a little crucifix necklace. Their friend Angelo, who’d died on the lawn of the school many years ago, had gifted what little possessions he’d owned at the time to his old classmates. Jubilee had always admired the little crucifix and it had been the one silver lining out of losing Angie so young. She’d been unable to wear it during the years she’d been a vamp but seeing her wearing it now, as Angelo had always intended for her, made his energy twist painfully in his chest.

Paige pushed against him, pulling him out of his thoughts. Her expression turned to one of mock seduction, eyes narrowing and lips pouting. She hung off him with one arm, hoisting her leg up against one of his own. “None whatsoever.” She teased, glancing between him and Jubilee.

“Perfect!” Jubilee’s eyes sparkled, “I’ve been waiting to propose my X-Men orgy.”

As Paige laughed, Jono thought, _“You look… good. You look nice. Really nice.”_

A red tinge coloured her cheeks and she smiled warmly, replying, “Aww thanks, Sparky. So do you.”

“On that note,” Paige butted in, scooting past the pair of them, “I have my own hot date with Miss St. Croix, a bowl of popcorn and a bad action movie. Y’all have fun now.”

Paige placed her hands on either side of Jubilee’s head and kissed her sloppily on the forehead. Jubilee giggled, enveloping Paige in a firm hug. They shared a final smile before Paige brushed past her. She winked at them from the doorway of the kitchen before disappearing and leaving Jono and Jubilee alone.

Jubilee tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. Her hair was getting long now, trailing her shoulders. It reminded him of their school days together, where she’d let her hair grow wild between X-Men missions, only to shoddily hack if off with a pair of kitchen scissors. He’d watch her from the doorway, teasing her, as she balanced on a dressing table stool and called him a stupid, ugly boy. He’d stare at her arse in those frilly shorts as she bent towards the mirror to put on her mascara or lipstick. He looked back on the memories with shame but, reflecting on it now, he saw the signs of attraction right in front of his face. The only problem was they’d both been immature then, he’d been full of teenage misery and she’d been like an annoying kid sister. They’d been blind to it or he had, at least.

She didn’t look immature anymore. She reached forward, fingers tracing the edge of his jacket. She was chattering about how excited she was, how relieved she was to be getting out of the mansion. Her hand trailed down his arm as if on instinct and he took her hand in his before she even reached his wrist. Her skin was soft like icing, a harsh contrast to his worn, calloused hands. He ran a thumb in little circles along the top of her hand.

“Something tells me you’re not paying attention to me,” Jubilee smirked, slipping her hand out from under his and grabbing him by the side of his jacket. She leaned in close to him, eyes hooded, and lips pursed. “Don’t you like me, Sparky?”

_“More than most people.”_

She pouted, kissing him quickly on his chin. She was too short to reach his face without standing on her tiptoes. “More than most? Am I not your favourite person in the whole world?”

 _“Didn’t say that now, did I?”_ Jono replied. He let his hands linger a little too long on her waist before adding, _“Off we go then. Best to get gone before Illyana starts throwing things.”_

*

Jubilee was tipsy and Jono was struggling to enjoy himself. The club had seemed like a good idea at the time, a spur of the moment genius plan, but he realized now just how tired he was and just how much he longed to be alone with Jubilee. He couldn’t stop staring at her in that dress. He just wanted to pull her close and sway with her to some Elvis song, just the two of them in his cramped bedroom. They’d fall on the bed laughing, talk about music and mutants and mysteries for hours, then the fun would begin in earnest.

Jubilee poked him in the side, “What’s wrong?” She shouted over the din of the music. The smile on her face was slowly falling so Jono intervened quickly.

 _“Nothin’,”_ He replied, he jerked his thumb towards the dancefloor, _“Wanna dance?”_

She quirked an eyebrow at him, probably not fully buying his answer but nodding anyway. She let her hand slip into his pulling him to the centre of the dancefloor. He stiffened up, feeling exposed. Jubilee wrapped her arms round his neck, practically dangling off him like a necklace. She pushed herself up onto her tiptoes, pressing against him and whispering into his ear, with a kind of seductive solace, “Relax, Sparky. I’m the only one watching.”

Jono’s hands came to rest on Jubilee’s waist and she loosened her grip around his arms, letting her hands rest on his shoulders. It was awkward at first and hard to manoeuvre in such a loud, small space. The music really wasn’t his style, some generic house music, the bass beating a headache into his skull.

When they finally found a comfortable rhythm, they moved skilfully in and out of each other’s space in time with the music. Jubilee moving back, Jono moving forward. Jono moving back, Jubilee moving forward. She twirled on her heels, pressing her back against him and giggling, moving down him slowly and making sure her hand brushed past his crotch on the way down.

As the beat sped up, he could feel the energy crackling off Jubilee’s skin, the fireworks sizzling just below the surface. Her brown eyes tinged with pink and yellow, sparkling under the flashing lights of the club. The atmosphere of the club and their proximity to each other acted like a catalyst for their powers. Jono could feel himself getting hot all over, almost unbearably so. He glanced down, saw the flames trying to peek through the bandages. He had enough time to frown at them before his eyes glazed over.

Jubilee’s grin was frenzied, eyes wild and infinite, until she noticed Jono’s chest lighting up too. The energy was building up in his chest, pushing against the bandages with growing intensity. Jubilee blinked away the lights from her eyes and gripped his shoulders tightly, painted pink nails digging into his skin.

“Jono,” Jubilee whispered frantically, “ _Honey._ You need to calm down. How about we step outside?”

She didn’t give him a chance to answer, practically dragging her with him towards the exit. They retrieve his jacket from the cloakroom and elbowed their way out of the busy club. Spilling out onto the street, New York was as alive at night as it was by day. Traffic rushed on through a city that was lit up by a thousand lights. The large neon sign above the club bathed them in a deep red glow.

“Are you OK?” Jubilee’s voice was high and panicky.

Jono leaned against the wall, clutching his aching head and trying to collect himself, _“Yeah… yeah, I’m fine. I mean I should be fine in a little bit. Sorry to give you a scare like that, luv.”_

“Don’t apologize,” Jubilee sighed, running her hand across her face, “This was all just too much at once. We should have just stayed in and played stupid Monopoly with Dani and Illyana. Ugh! This was _the worst idea._ ”

 _“Wasn’t your idea, luv,”_ Jono reminded her, a little hurt by her words, _“But maybe you’re right. Maybe this was too much for one day.”_

Jubilee sighed again. Jono leaned up against the wall of the club, letting his head fall against the concrete. A breeze picked up and sent Jubilee shivering. He pushed off the wall and removed his jacket, wandering over to her, _“’ere.”_

“Oh, no, it’s alright,” Jubilee managed a half-smile at him, but she was still clutching her arms and shaking, “I’ll be fine.”

  _“Don’t be stubborn now, just take the bloody thing.”_ A note of irritation edged its way into his ‘voice’. He didn’t mean for it but, from the way Jubilee raised her brow at him, she had already picked up on it.

“Maybe we should start heading back…?”

They wandered down the street by the club to find a taxi to hail. Jubilee stared at the ground, a defeated expression on her face. Jono had his hands shoved into his pockets, watching her out of the corner of his eye. He needed to say something, to make things right with her before the guilt ate him, even if the night had been a bust. He didn’t want that to be her lingering memory of him on their first real date as a couple, a memory where he was snappish and impatient.

He saw a bench and found his opportunity, _“You mind if we sit for a bit?”_

Jubilee’s voice was distant as she huffed, “Sure.”

He reclined onto the bench, elbows propped on the back of it and legs folded. Jubilee perched next to him, hunched over and looking like a bird who might fly away at any moment. He thought, _“Sorry about earlier. Didn’t mean to snap at you like that, luv.”_

“It’s okay,” She replied, glancing up at him, “I’m just sorry tonight sucked so bad, that I got you all hot and bothered for no reason.”

 _“You tend to have that affect on me,”_ He winked at her and she sat up a little straighter, _“It’s fine, Lee. It was my idiot idea. It didn’t work out.”_

He let the silence hang between them for a moment then placed his hand lightly on her thigh. She felt like ice under his hand. She watched the hand on her leg. He made no attempt to move it off her or up her dress. She caught his gaze. The mischievous glint in her eyes had her reading his thoughts before they came into her mind, _“There are always other things to do.”_

She hesitated for a moment, a moment that seemed to drag on for so long he imagined withdrawing his hand and doing a runner down the street. Jubilee folded her knees under herself on the bench, crouching so she could move close to his face and rub her nose against his. It would never replace kissing, but it was something only she had ever thought to do and so it was their gesture and theirs alone. It was sacred.

She slipped her leg over him, straddling him on the bench. Her smile got wider. He kept his arms propped on the back of the bench and let her tilt his head back gently. She cupped the side of his face, eyes so full of earnest adoration it caused him pain someone as beautiful and so incredibly perfect as her could love him this much.

“We’ll make it work, won’t we?” Her voice was barely above a whisper and by the way she spoke the words, it made it seem like she was questioning herself as much as she was him. “Even if we drive each other nuts? Even if all our plans fall apart? Even if everything is terrible and painful and all our friends die? We’ll make it work and we’ll love each other no matter what?”

He didn’t hesitate, and he replied with the conviction of a man who’d run through all those scenarios a million times in his head, _“Yes.”_

She kissed him, long and hard and passionately. It didn’t matter that there were no lips to receive it or that the most intense kiss Jono had felt in a long time was happening on a grimy bench in downtown New York City. She combed a hand through his hair and he finally moved his arms, resting a hand on her leg and another on her back, tilting her forward in his lap. She broke the kiss but peppered his face and neck with tiny, softer kisses across his cheeks and on his forehead. He stroked his thumb against the cold skin of her thigh, sending a shiver through her body.

He decided to take a risk, _“I love you.”_

She paused her kissing, pulling back to look at him. She blinked a few times and Jono waited for the floor to swallow him. Then she broke into a smile.

“I love you, too,” She said. She leaned against him, against his chest and he let his energy push against the bandages and hug into her. She closed her eyes against him and continued, with a sly smile, “I love you so much I can probably overlook how musty your jacket smells.”


End file.
